20 Twitter Terms to know (and bookmark)

If you’re just getting started with Twitter or even if you’ve been using it for a while, sometimes you just need a refresher on Twitter terminology.

I’ve taken the time to compose a list of 20 Twitter terms that you should get to know (and bookmark).

Take a few minutes to read through these 20 Twitter termsand examples of how you use them on Twitter to tweet with your friends and make new ones!

Avatar
Your photo on your Twitter profile.

Block
To stop someone from seeing your tweets on Twitter.

Direct message or DM
A private message on Twitter. To send a direct message on Twitter, simply begin your tweet with “d @username…rest of your message.”

Follower
Someone who follows you on Twitter. When someone follows you, they are indicating they want to see your updates in their Tweetstream.

Following
When you follow someone on Twitter. When you are following someone, you are indicating you want to see someone’s updates in your Tweetstream.

Handle
Your Twitter username.

Hashtag
A tag to group tweets together. You indicate a hashtag by adding # to a word, group of words, phrase, etc.

Modified Tweet (MT)
When you retweet someone’s tweet but modify the original tweet. You identify a modified tweet by adding MT to the beginning of your tweet. For example, if the original tweet is “@ckroks 20 tips for Twitter users” and you modify the tweet to say “@ckroks 20 AWESOME tips for Twitter users,”your tweet should be “MT @ckroks 20 AWESOME tips for Twitter users.”

Retweet (RT)
Reposting someone’s tweet. You retweet a tweet by adding RT to the beginning of someone’s tweet.

Stream
Another way to refer to your Tweetstream.

Tweeple
People who tweet.

Tweeps
Friend son Twitter.

Tweet
Noun: A Twitter update.
Verb:The act of posting on Twitter.

Tweeter
A Twitter user who tweets

Twittersphere
The entire community of Twitter users.

Tweetstream
A series of Twitter posts. Tweetstreams can be public and private.

Tweetup
Informal, face-to-face meeting of Twitter followers. Tweetups

Twitterati
People who are passionate about Twitter

Twitter lists
A list of Twitter users. Twitter lists can be public and private.

Unfollow
To stop following someone you were following at one time. To unfollow someone, simply visit their profile and click”unfollow.”

Now that you’ve got a solid grasp on Twitter and the terms you will be using regularly on Twitter, if you know someone who is just getting started on Twitter, feel free to share this list of 20 Twitter terms with them.

If you’re on Twitter, I would love to connect with you. Feel free to send me a tweet at ckroks and tell me what you primarily use Twitter for. Is it connecting with friends, growing your business, selling products, sharing updates from your blog, something else?